I think that Putz will stay as the closer because he has great closer stuff and has done great this year. Soriano will probably stay in the back of the bullpen to save his arm. If you really want a great year by a reliever look at Soriano's 2003 year. He has electric stuff and I thought he would be the closer, but whatever.
reynolds80 wrote:I don't think people realize how dominant Putz is.
He is having one of the best seasons by a reliever in baseball history.
34 innings, 6 walks, 46 strikeouts
You serious?
I mean he's had a great season, and I would know better than anybody since I used my waiver priority on him a few months back, but maybe you should look at the stats of some of the other closers in the league before saying that (such as Papelbon, Ryan and Gordon). All 3 of those guys are having outstanding years, and yes al 3 of them have been better than JJ Putz.
The Loveable Losers wrote:I don't think he'll find himself in the closer role barring injury. However he's an outstanding pitcher that will put up great ratios with about a k/ip. I put him in the same breath with guys like Shields, Linebrink, Rincon, Betancourt and Duchscherer now.
Betancourt and his 4.82 era??
Yea I'd put Duaner Sanchez and Joel Zumaya in that group. Shields, Linebrink, Rincon, Duchscherer, Sanchez, Zumaya and Soriano make up the elite setupmen.
Sanchez needs to get his head screwed on straight to get back into the list of elite guys...he's been junk lately. Betancourt has had one bad outing since coming off the DL that seriously inflated the era along with some struggles early in the year while trying to pitch hurt...look at his career numbers though (especially if you leave out the rookie season) and you get an idea of what he's capable of doing.
Zumaya was my typical mistake on excluding him. He's protected as a minor leaguer in my main league so I always forget about him (since I can't have him ) but he is flat nasty.
Barry Bonds liked what he saw of Putz in IL play ...
"Bonds compared Seattle's new closer, who has 11 saves in 12 chances since taking LHP Eddie Guardado's job, to Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne. "You've got a guy throwing 99 mph -- it's like Gagne," Bonds said. "He is so successful because the change of speed. The pitches are like 20 miles per hour (from) each other."
by The Loveable Losers » Wed Jun 21, 2006 10:32 am
d18Mike wrote:Barry Bonds liked what he saw of Putz in IL play ...
"Bonds compared Seattle's new closer, who has 11 saves in 12 chances since taking LHP Eddie Guardado's job, to Los Angeles Dodgers closer Eric Gagne. "You've got a guy throwing 99 mph -- it's like Gagne," Bonds said. "He is so successful because the change of speed. The pitches are like 20 miles per hour (from) each other."
Yeah, I'm not too high on Putz ever giving the job up. He's not the same pitcher he was in the past. He's added a nasty splitter that he's very confident in throwing. He throws his pitches with conviction and he keeps the hitters off-balance. He's the real deal.
I don't think Soriano has much of a chance at being the closer this year barring injury. The Mariners will have an interesting decision to make next year. Also, wasn't Soriano supposed to be a starting pitcher? Did the Mariners scrap that idea totally because of his arm injuries? He was supposed to be the next Johan, until Liriano came around.
Also, Dirty Sanchez still has some pretty good stats, but he has definitely hit a rough patch. His K rate is WAY DOWN. He was overworked at the beginning of the year, and Willie Randolph is paying for that now. His past four appearances are promising.
I don't think Soriano has much of a chance at being the closer this year barring injury. The Mariners will have an interesting decision to make next year. Also, wasn't Soriano supposed to be a starting pitcher? Did the Mariners scrap that idea totally because of his arm injuries? He was supposed to be the next Johan, until Liriano came around.
Also, Dirty Sanchez still has some pretty good stats, but he has definitely hit a rough patch. His K rate is WAY DOWN. He was overworked at the beginning of the year, and Willie Randolph is paying for that now. His past four appearances are promising.
Yeah, Soriano was a huge SP prosepct before TJ and then they wanted him in the bullpen because they didn't feel he was ready to go as a starter yet. Seeing him pitch though I really feel he's better suited to the pen...I don't think he's got enough pitches and different looks to do quite as well as a starter especially since his strikeout pitch is a slider (more arm wear and tear there than a guy like Liriano/Santana that goes fastball/change). Honestly I don't see why the Mariners would mess with anything. You need more than 1 quality reliever...stick with Soriano/Putz for the 8/9 next year as well. It's working great now...both guys are reasonably young...and when/if Putz is poised to get too expensive then trade him at the deadline and promote Soriano to closer.
I don't think Soriano has much of a chance at being the closer this year barring injury. The Mariners will have an interesting decision to make next year. Also, wasn't Soriano supposed to be a starting pitcher? Did the Mariners scrap that idea totally because of his arm injuries? He was supposed to be the next Johan, until Liriano came around.
Also, Dirty Sanchez still has some pretty good stats, but he has definitely hit a rough patch. His K rate is WAY DOWN. He was overworked at the beginning of the year, and Willie Randolph is paying for that now. His past four appearances are promising.
Yeah, Soriano was a huge SP prosepct before TJ and then they wanted him in the bullpen because they didn't feel he was ready to go as a starter yet. Seeing him pitch though I really feel he's better suited to the pen...I don't think he's got enough pitches and different looks to do quite as well as a starter especially since his strikeout pitch is a slider (more arm wear and tear there than a guy like Liriano/Santana that goes fastball/change). Honestly I don't see why the Mariners would mess with anything. You need more than 1 quality reliever...stick with Soriano/Putz for the 8/9 next year as well. It's working great now...both guys are reasonably young...and when/if Putz is poised to get too expensive then trade him at the deadline and promote Soriano to closer.
Putz won't get too expensive the Mariners will pay especially since when Putz is about to get that much in the next few years Eddie will be long gone and there will be that money available.
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by Yin_Xu88 » Wed Jun 21, 2006 1:05 am 
) but he is flat nasty.
